In the Kitchen

What's New at Paulding & Company

April 2008

The food-trendy Bay Area is a hotbed of culinary contradictions. We have fantastic restaurants serving fresh food, we have school children learning to grow their own, (like the 13-year-old Bar Mitzvah catering client who told me he had to have chard or kale on his menu!) and at the same time, we have a burgeoning quantity of prepared foods supplanting space that once held raw ingredients at our markets. Recently I’ve met a lot of people who have come to rely on the prepared food now sold at every supermarket for their meals--figuring that this food is a great compromise, better than frozen entrees or fast food, after all--and with our busy lifestyle, long work hours and commutes, who has time to cook elaborate meals anymore? I’ve never thought that food kept in a steam table for hours was particularly appealing or nourishing, and I’ve always preferred to make even the simplest of home-cooked meals to purchasing anything pre-made.

I’ve taught my Basic cooking classes for 20 years now, and more and more, I find these contradictions reflected in my students’ requests as well--some request fancier, more labor intensive dishes they’d otherwise have to find in a restaurant, and others simply want to learn to make their meals quickly and without a lot of fussing in the kitchen. Planning classes is a balancing act between these two extremes, but the common denominator for me is fresh, top-quality ingredients--one reason I always let you know what’s fresh in the farmers markets in this newsletter, to encourage you to go and seek out wonderful fresh food!

Join me in the Spring Basic Cooking Supper Club class series that starts Wednesday, if you want to talk about this more, and discover some fast, easy and delicious ways to make fresh dinners at home. There are still some spots left--just register TODAY to get one of them! This class is the bargain class you’ve always wanted--if you haven’t taken it, do consider it. Six Wednesday evenings, 6 full dinners, and a mere $46.66 a night (yes, you have to buy the series, which is $280). A congenial group of fellow students, and did I mention, really good food? Some students have reviewed the class on Yelp, if you want to hear what others are saying.

What’s Been Happening in March

I had eagerly anticipated working with Paul Canales, the chef at Oliveto, by assisting at the class he was scheduled to teach. Unfortunately he got the flu, so I had to do it myself--and what a great menu we made. I had never had baby spring lamb before, as it’s not readily available. But his supplier had lambs, and so we did too--a 25 lb. baby, one of the most delicious meats imaginable. My butchery skills are a bit rusty, but we managed to break the lamb down into shoulders, saddle and hindquarters, and roast all of them to perfection. Before we got to the lamb, we had a wonderful salad I thought I’d share as our recipe of the month this month, since it’s supremely seasonal, very easy and totally delightful. With fresh asparagus in the market, and fava beans just showing up now, it embodies the flavors of springtime.

Tonight is the second wonderful class I’ve been anticipating--the fish and seafood class taught by Polly Legnedre. As I wanted to get the newsletter out today, I’ll have to report on it next month--I’m sure I’ll learn a few things from this gifted chef, especially some interesting seafood facts to share with all of you.

NEW Classes

We have a wonderful new teacher at the kitchen! Shuna Fish Lydon, pastry chef and author of Eggbeater, a very popular blog, is offering two classes this month, and more in the future. Shuna has a very large following, so if you want a spot in one of these great classes, don’t wait to sign up. The first is a Caramel class on Saturday, April 12th and here’s what Shuna says about it in her blog:

"Caramel is the subject of one of my next classes. Get more confident around this dangerous substance. Understand mounting and avoid crystallization. Taste the difference between various caramels, develop a taste memory for salts and dairy seasonings, and walk away with a caramel swagger."

Shuna is also teaching a Pastry class on Saturday the 19th--where you’ll work with shortbread, pie and galette doughs.

Working with my own students, I know that both of these subjects are often approached with a bit of dread in class, and having the opportunity to focus on them one subject at a time is a great opportunity.

Knife Sharpening is again on the calendar for Monday, May 12th; this is the class where you learn to keep your knives in cutting form--Eric Weiss has been teaching it now for over a year, and it is very popular. We keep the groups small enough that you get lots of individual attention, and you get your own sharpening stone to take home, too.

Knife Skills is set for Monday May 19th, as well. Charlie Vollmar will teach you how to use those newly sharpened knives to great effect.

It occurs to me that the two knife classes would make a great husband & wife Mother’s and Father’s day gift set! We’ve added special couple’s discount pricing to both classes!

Rosetta Costantino’s classes are all sold out this spring, but you can get on her waiting list by following each class link--however she has openings starting with her July class. Check the calendar for dates, and follow the link to her website to get on the list. And, if you want to plan ahead--sign up for classes through the end of 2008, which are all on the calendar now.

In the Market

Each week brings new spring vegetables. Saturday I found the first tender fava beans and edible pod peas at Grand Lake, avocados are back in the markets too. Asparagus is at it’s best, and artichokes as well are there in generous supply. Pea tendrils and fava greens, tender spring lettuce, bright radishes and of course the green garlic and spring onions are marvelous. Use green garlic for a subtle, bright garlic flavor--and you don’t have to peel the cloves. This is prime market time for vegetables, as all the winter stand-bys are also great right now. Leeks, chard, sweet kales, turnips, rutabagas, cauliflowers and good broccoli.

Citrus and apples are still plentiful, and the strawberries get better each week. The first organic strawberries are starting to show up at Grand Lake, and should be in the other markets soon. It won’t be cherry season till late May, with the rest of the stone fruit to follow--something to anticipate.

On a floral note, you can get bunches of gorgeous lilacs from Wild Boar Farm at Grand Lake right now (every Saturday, 9-2). I’ve mentioned my other favorite prepared item stand at that market, Big Paw Grub many times--I go there for wonderful olive oils and vinegars. I’ve visited Big Paw’s plant in Vallejo, and love the products they make, which are all unadulterated, and made-from-scratch. If you buy a raspberry balsamic from them, you know that it actually was made with raspberries, not flavoring syrups, and balsamic made from local grapes.

Tasting Report

A few weeks ago, I went to a blind tasting of beef. It was a Women Chef’s and Restauranteurs sponsored event, where, along with a simple and delicious meal, we were served slices of five different types of grilled strip steaks. We rated each according to it’s merits as we tried them in succession, with 8 people at each table sharing impressions. I found the first meat uninteresting but acceptable, a couple of people thought it delicious. The second entry was a bit better, with more flavor and tenderness, and many people at the table loved it. Sample 3 was mild and the flavor good. Sample 4 was my favorite by far, delicious, with more subtle flavors, and very tender. I like my beef cooked very rare, and this was the rarest sample we got, which I figured might have influenced my opinion, and also made me suspect that it was the grass-fed beef, since being quite lean, it is best when served very rare. Finally, and most interesting, we had a very marbled sample that started out really delicious, but I found that as I chewed it, it developed a grainy texture I didn’t like at all.

After we’d tried everything, rated and discussed each, we were told what they were: sample one was mass-market feedlot beef--that is, cows that spent a great deal of time in a feedlot, and not much time eating grass, most likely fed lots of antibiotics to keep healthy in such close proximity, bought from a bulk supplier. Sample 2 was bought at a supermarket. 3 was Creekstone Natural, the first antibiotic and hormone-free sample. 4 was Estancia beef, raised entirely on grass in South America. And, 5, as I had suspected, was expensive and much-hyped American Kobe (Wagu) beef.

While I don’t want to pass judgment on any of these various products, I do want to mention that the grass-finished beef (that is, fed grass ALL it’s life) is more healthy to eat. It is naturally leaner, has less saturated fat, more CLA, a fat that is considered anti-cancer, and contains ample good Omega 3 fat, which we get too little of in our diets. When fed on grain, this fat is transformed to Omega 6, which we have too much of in our diets. In short, grass fed and finished beef is closer to the wild game of our ancestral diets. However, because it is lean, you have to cook steaks and roasts with care--it cooks faster than grain-finished beef, and can be tough and uninteresting if overcooked.

Other Things You Can Do at the Paulding & Company Kitchen!

Host a party. Have a rehearsal dinner. A delicious club meeting. A work-group team development session. A self-designed class for all your friends. A food competition (a la Top Chef). A comparative tasting. A product launch. A catered event....What else can you think of?

Finally, besides the Yelp link, Paulding & Company is now listed on Yahoo Local. I’d love to have some of you (students, team building clients, etc.) add to the reviews if you’d like to.

Happy Springtime!